


Taking the me out of Teamwork

by Sparkly Otaku (Otaku_girl)



Series: You can choose your family [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: 30 Days of Writing, Awesome Darcy Lewis, Darcy Lewis & Tony Stark Friendship, Darcy may be Tony Stark's daughter...if you squint a bit, Deaf Clint, Drabble, Gen, Implied Relationships, Team Dynamics, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-08-18 04:46:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8149564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Otaku_girl/pseuds/Sparkly%20Otaku
Summary: Tony Stark has a plan. It's too bad no-one wants to listen to him...





	

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1 —Select a book at random in the room. Find a novel or short story, copy down the last sentence and use this line as the first line of your new story.
> 
> I chose the final line from Don Delillo's White Noise as my inspiration. I must admit, it is not a book that I have finished, but it is one that ends on a note that has stuck in my mind and inspired me to play around with a few tentative ideas.

‘Everything we need that is not food or love is here in the tabloid racks. The tales of the supernatural and the extra-terrestrial. The miracle vitamins, the cures for cancer, the remedies for obesity. The cults of the famous and the dead.’ Slapping the paper on the middle of the briefing room table, he paused for dramatic effect.

Agent Hill signed, hands tightening over the glass rim of her desk. ‘Your point being, Stark?’  
Pacing around the edge of the room, he waved his arms, eyes glinting. The rest of the team gave an audible echo of groans and he-we-go’s. Tony faltered. Pausing a beat to take a deep breath, he looked around for a vacant seat. 

‘Don’t mind me. Hard, shiny, clinical seats are so last pre-millennial. Really, would it kill you guys to invest in some scatter cushions? A nice rug or two, maybe?’ Shaking his head, he tapped his Startphone ‘Note to self: provide grant to SHIELD for more soft furnishings this Christmas. Really, your baby agents will thank you for it.’ 

‘If that’s all, Mister-‘ Maria tried to interrupt him, shuffling the paperwork on her desk meaningfully. 

‘My point being, we cover all of these.’ Looking around the room triumphantly, his smile faltered.

‘Oh, here we go-‘ Clint muttered, reaching up to flick his hearing aids off. 

‘No, no. hear me out. We’ve got a god on the team, along with a giant green rage monster – no offence Bruce. We’ve defeated aliens, saved the world – multiple times, I might add. The super soldier is responsible for improving and preserving practically half of the team – er, not that you need preserving in any way at all, red.’ He added, risking a glance at the unamused redhead. ’Start Industries are working on more than thirty life-changing treatments for major illnesses, creating new ways to improve the lives of everyday Americans – of everyday citizens around the world. As for cults of the famous and the dead? Just look at Cap. You can’t get a bigger cult following than the Cap fanboys – well, unless you’re counting the Cap conspiracy theorists who are convinced Stevie here’s just a puppet dreamed up by the CIA and FBI, some sort of unholy lovechild defiling the memory of the original, long deceased Captain Rogers. If that’s not cult-like, I don’t know what is. Just how many proposals have you received in the mail this month, capsicle?’ 

Steve flushed. ‘I really don’t think that’s-’

‘Besides making your teammates uncomfortable, did you have a point you were ambling towards? Please, enlighten us.’ Maria’s voice rose to cut them both off, her patience rapidly thinning.

Tony looked around the room.

‘Really? It’s just me? No-one else has made the jump? What am I saying – I’m a genius, I can’t expect everyone to keep up. That would just be foolish. Not to mention disappointing. You really shouldn’t overload a man with a heart condition with so much negative energy. You never know when it will push him – well, me – over the edge, and you wouldn’t want that. Not really – no, don’t give me that look, Hawkass, I know you love me. Who’d make you even more ridiculously effective equipment for that antique you call a weapon if I was gone? No-one. That’s who.’

‘Shield-‘

‘NO-ONE!’ Tony continued on, hand raised. ‘Where was I? Supernatural – check; kick diseases ass – check; save the world, save the girl – no-one? That reference too out of date now? I’m going to go ahead and saaaaay… check. Cults of the famous and the dead – ah, yes. Technically a big fat check, but really – what are we doing to harness this power we suddenly have? How could we do more good with our new-found roles as leaders, icons, role-models. We could be making changes, so many positive changes-‘

‘We’re really not leaders, Stark.’ Steve interrupted. ‘We’re just a group of individuals trying to make a difference.’

‘Exactly! That’s our problem. Individuals. IN-DI-VID-UAL-S.’ Tony elongated the word, looking around in triumph. ‘It takes just one man and all that nonsense – well, no, it’s not nonsense; I’m proof enough of that. You’re missing the bigger picture – the impact we could have, together, as a group, if we just-‘

‘Oh my god, please tell me this isn’t about comicon again.’ Clint groaned, slumping down in his seat.

‘Almost, Katniss, almost – we’ll revisit that later. I know you want to squeeze those bulging biceps into a skin-tight Widow cosplay, don’t you try to deny it. No, I’m talking about us. Getting a message out there – doing some real good, outside of the battlefield. Outside of the suits and capes – really, big guy, I’ll give you the name of my tailor; capes are so three centuries ago. There are thousands upon thousands of photos out there of us pulling people out of rubble, footage of us putting people through buildings, starting and finishing fires, pileups, millions upon millions of dollars of damage worldwide –‘ He implored, eyes darting between the team. He stopped, staring at Steve as the super soldier clenched his jaw.

‘We’re saving people. A little collateral damage is more than worth saving even one human life – or are you saying your money means more to you than civilians now?’

Tony shook his head. ‘No-one’s saying that. Literally. No-one. Well, you just did I guess, but before that. I’m talking about our public image.’ He spread his hands. ‘How are you guys not getting this?’

Natasha raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow. ‘Are you really the one to be talking to us about public image? What is it you like to call yourself – millionaire playboy-‘

‘Billionaire. Really, is it that hard to remember? Billionaire playboy philanthropist. That’s beside the point. I’m not talking about me-‘

‘Finally!’ Clint coughed.

‘That would make a nice change.’ Maria muttered under her breath.

Tony turned wounded eyes on Thor as he piped up ‘Oh thank the all-father.’

Looking down, he clenched his fists. ‘Fine. Fine then.’ He stood slipping his sunglasses onto the bridge of his nose. ‘That’s just-fine.’

‘Tony.’ Bruce said. ‘I’m sure they meant-‘

‘It’s fine, Brucey-bear. Really. I know exactly what they meant. Gentlemen. Ladies.’

Sweeping out of the office, he ignored the mutterings about his childishness. Strolling through the corridors as if he owned them – he might as well, truth be told, with how many donations he had made to Shield over the years – refusing to look back as he made his way around the bland, surprisingly maze-like corridors. 

‘Hey, tinman.’ He jumped, spinning to face her. ‘You forget our meeting again? I thought you were gonna introduce me.’ 

Red lipstick. Skin-tight pencil skirt. Crisp white blouse with just one too many buttons undone. ‘No can do, Betty. Plan’s changed.’

Rolling her eyes, she brushed a stray curl away from her face. ‘I’m convinced you’ll learn my name one day. It’s really not that hard. You went through that old school romancing phase didn’t you? Quoting poetry and reading novels to your soon-to-be conquests before luring them back to your lair for a night of you’ve-ruined-me-for-all-future-partners fun. Pride and Prejudice must have been on that list somewhere. Darcy. D-A-R-C-Y. As in mister. As in I’ll totally own dat ass if you don’t start remembering it, even if you could totally buy and sell like, my entire hometown a kajillion times over.’

Tony stopped with a sign, turning to face the fiery menace. Apparently, he had something about surrounding himself women with a mouth on them.

‘Betty, as in Paige or Boop. Stunning. Confident. Assets that make anyone drool, plus more than enough confidence to use it to their advantage. You choose. No, I didn’t forget our meeting. Plan’s changed – they’re all yours. Go forth and do your thing. My interference really isn’t something that will help at this point. If you want them to take you seriously, believe me – you’re better off without the team tag-along’s endorsement. Plus, just how old do you think I am? Reading poetry and quoting Austin – give me some credit. I haven’t done that for at least…how old are you again? Christ, if I’m asking that, it’s been far, far too long.’ He glanced over his shoulder as she hurried to keep up.

‘Oh my god. Please tell me that wasn’t a Your Mom joke. That wasn’t how you actually seduced her, was it? Please tell me it – no. Nooooo, actually, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.’ Darcy screwed her eyes shut, shaking her head. ‘Lalala can’t hear you.’

Spinning away, he paused as she grabbed his arm. ‘Hold up there, Daddy Warbucks. Where do you think you’re going?’ She tapped one stiletto-clad food against the floor.

He sighed. ‘Not now. Just-not now.’ 

‘Yes. Yes now. What is up with you? This was your idea. If you’ve changed your mind about me? Sure, I get it. But you guys can’t seriously keep going on how you’ve been these last few years. You have some major PR problems. MAJOR. Ignoring them won’t make them go away. Pretending the press don’t like to shit all over you when Thor makes a cultural faux pas, when Captain America makes another out-dated remark slip through, that the fracking male reporters won’t even enter the same room as Black Widow after that incident with the peanuts and the pro-life rally three blocks from Avengers HQ Isn’t. Helping! Let’s not get started on birdboy and the big, green mean machine. You guys need-‘

Tony cut her off, voice biting. ‘That’s where you’re wrong. There is no ‘us guys’, Darce. There’s just…there’s them, and there’s me.’

‘Oh…’ She looked at him, head tilted to one side.

‘Yeah. Oh. It’s not you, it’s – oh god, it does suck just as much from this side of the conversation. Clichés notwithstanding, it’s me that’s the problem here. Not the Avengers. Not Iron Man. Me.’ He tugged his arm out of her grip, striding away.

‘Bullshit’ Darcy called down the hallway after him. ‘Tony Stark’s the one who creates solutions. He finds problems the rest of us didn’t even know were on the horizon, and he fixes them. Tony Stark has had the courage to fight for what he believes in for a long, long time. Sure, Iron Man may have made that easier. It may have made the changes you’ve been trying to make for years to the public’s attention for the first frigging time.’

‘Tony Stark understands the impact public opinion can have on a man. He understands how that can effect tens of thousands of men and women and children, all around the world. He hates playing nice with the media, but he knows that it’s a necessary evil. One that he’s been trying to face on his own for far, far too long.’

Leaning against the wall, he took a deep, steadying breath before turning to face her.‘Look, Darce, I’m just….I’m so tired. Of all of this. Don’t let me drag you down with me. Go in there, and kick butt. You’ll do great. Leave an old man to his wallowing.’

‘Nope.’

Tony blinked.

‘Come on, boss man.’ She linked her arms with his. ‘You’re buying me new shoes. Auntie Pep’s always going on about the shoe collection you’ve bought her, and it’s time you pay up and kick start my professional wardrobe with the good stuff.’

‘Pepper talks about me? Still? I mean, after-’

Darcy rolled her eyes. ‘Duh. Come on. We can talk about it more while we’re looking through this cute little retro store I stumbled across on my way back from Jane’s last week. You can get me a new work wardrobe to go along with those shoes, while I plan out our next moves for the upcoming 18 months.’

’18 months-what the heck?’ Waving Happy away as they hit the sidewalk, Tony followed her lead onto the streets of New York.

‘What? Iron Man going solo is going to cause ripples. You know it. I know it. Pepper and Rhodey sure as heck know it – who do you think suggested I come up with a plan c? Well, that’s more See as in See You Later Fuckers, rather than the letter c, as I totes already had, like, two dozen plans in place for the whole team.’

‘I…’ Tony looked at her, lost for words. She smiled at him gently, hands resting on his shoulders.

‘You have to ask yourself, Tony; are you happy? Still being listed as a contractor? With their constant attitudes, despite the time, money, tech, blood, sweat, and tears you put in? Ah-ah-ah, don’t try and deny it. J spilled on how much sleep you’ve been getting these past few months. We’ll be having words about THAT later. If you’re the one making all the moves, is it worth still trying? If…if you could make more of a difference without them, if you could be happier, if the world could see who you truly are not how they want you to be…isn’t that worth it?’


End file.
